Grover Norquist: Herman Cain's '999' Plan Is 'Very Dangerous'

Grover Norquist, president of the conservative Americans for Tax Reform, said on ABC's "Top Line" on Monday that Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain's "999" plan is "very dangerous." Cain proposes replacing the current federal tax code with a 9 percent income tax, a 9 percent corporate tax and a 9 percent national sales tax.

"I'm very concerned about three different taxes -- every one of them can grow," said Norquist.

"To put tapeworms in your tummy to try and maintain your weight -- they may have their own idea about their growth patterns and what they want to do. Creating new taxes is a very dangerous project," he added.

Norquist is the author of a no-tax pledge that many Republican politicians sign vowing to oppose any federal tax increases. Cain has signed the pledge, along with all the other Republican presidential candidates except for former Utah governor Jon Huntsman.

Norquist said that he did not think the "999" plan violated his pledge since it was set up to be "revenue-neutral." He added, however, that the plan hasn't been "clearly written down" or "scored by CBO [Congressional Budget Office]."

Norquist also said the "999" plan would not grow the economy, as Cain claims. "It doesn't create new possibilities for growth," he said.

"Look, I applaud Herman Cain's statement that the present system is too high, it's too redistributionist, it moves money from one side to another. Let's take rates radically down, let's end this double- and triple-taxation of savings. But the way he does it creates these new taxes like a VAT [value-added tax] and a retail sales tax that have a dangerous history of growing."

When asked recently by Fox News' Chris Wallace what will prevent "999" from becoming 12-12-12, Cain said he would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate to raise taxes -- a move that could be unconstitutional.

"If this bill was before Congress, I would say, vote 'no,'" said Norquist about the "999" plan to "The Daily Caller," but added that he did not think the plan had a chance of becoming law anyway.